Today we’d like to introduce you to Gabriel Avila.
Hi Gabriel, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Hi! My name is Gabriel, I am a producer / DJ based out of Dallas, TX by the name of “Destroyah”.
I love fitness, all forms of art, video games, and food, but above all, I’ve always been HUGE on music. Music has always been my escape from reality and helped me get through so much in my life. I’ve always told myself growing up that I wanted to provide that same escape my favorite artist’s music provided me, but to someone else, you know what I mean? growing up, I originally wanted to be in a deathcore band and I didn’t really get into electronic music till I was a teen and started teaching myself to DJ / mix back in 2015 – 2017 via an app I downloaded to my iPhone at the time. I spent a while trying to get comfortable enough with my progress to share my mixes with friends / upgrade to an actual piece of hardware.
I’d gone to my first festival in 2015 (Sun City Music Festival in El Paso, TX) and it was such a life-changing experience; I immediately knew that one way or another, it was what I wanted to do, you know?
I’d been to a lot of concerts/metal festivals in my life prior to that and have always loved meeting so many new people, being so in sync with complete strangers, sharing a connection through music, and completely escaping reality together but something about electronic music festivals made me feel so at home.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It hasn’t always been a smooth road, but recently it seems like everything is slowly starting to fall into place. My biggest struggles throughout growing my brand/project have been both learning how to produce and lack of confidence/faith in myself, you know? I didn’t always believe in myself and struggled with finding the motivation to keep going, but I can honestly say my group of friends that constantly provide me with love & support are the sole reason I’ve kept it pushing and grown to where I am today.
Shoutout CCG, Kaiju Pit, Grocery Boiz, and anyone else who’s always shown my project & I love. <3
Honestly though, just being a genuine person with pure intentions, minding your business, and focusing on your own crafts will make everything as smooth as possible for you and goes a long way.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Something I’m known for and am very proud of is my record label/artist collective, “Kaiju Pit.” I’ve always had something of a following, even when debuting my project, and always told myself I’d use my platform to shine light on those who I think deserve it, you know? I felt like there were so many incredibly talented individuals being overlooked and yet there I was getting attention I didn’t feel I’d earned yet, so I wanted to use my own platform to help those people out — enter Kaiju Pit.
It started as just an idea for a group of homies that could help shine that light on each other but quickly evolved to be so much more than that. It’s now a record label and community that focuses on shining light on up & coming underground artists who are KILLING it but don’t get the recognition they deserve.
It’s always bothered me that there’s people in their bedrooms making better music than any festival headliners, but no one is listening to their stuff, you know what I mean? So, my goal is to change that and really do my best to get these kids’ names out there. If I’ve helped even a little bit, then I’m happy with it.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
I’d say the most important lesson I’ve learned is not everyone has your best interests in mind, and you have to protect your own peace always. I don’t think I really need to elaborate on that, but it’s something I realized very quickly being in the music scene. Keep your circle small, move accordingly, and mind your own business.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/destroyah
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/destroyahdub
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/destroyahdub/
- Twitter: http://twitter.com/destroyahdub
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC25cfkBRt6HQ9gh0glRR3jA
- SoundCloud: https://m.soundcloud.com/destroyahdub
- Other: https://linktr.ee/kaijupit
Image Credits
Hernan Mendoza
ChillyMedia
